Scholarships for international students: Where to look and how to combine them with a loan

Many students fund a master's abroad from more than one source: scholarships, savings, family support and a loan. The order in which you approach them can make the whole picture clearer. This guide shows where genuine scholarship sources sit, how timelines work in practice, and how to combine a partial award with a loan to cover your remaining cost of attendance.

Where can international students find scholarships for a master's?

Think of scholarships in layers, starting with the funders closest to your chosen school and widening outwards.

• University awards: Many schools offer merit or need-based funding, often considered at the point of admission. Your school's financial aid or scholarships page is the first place to check, and your admissions office can tell you whether a separate application is needed.

• Government-funded schemes: Some governments fund international students directly. Examples include the UK's Chevening Scholarships, Germany's DAAD programmes and the European Union's Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters.

• Country-specific and diaspora funds: Schemes aimed at applicants from particular countries or regions, such as the Commonwealth Master's Scholarships for eligible Commonwealth countries or Fulbright programmes run through national commissions.

• Subject-specific awards: Professional bodies, foundations and industry groups sometimes fund students in fields such as engineering, public policy or law.

Examples worth knowing about

Chevening: The UK government's Chevening Scholarships are described by the programme as fully funded, one-year master's degrees in the UK for emerging leaders. According to its application timeline, applications for 2027/28 opened in August 2026 and closed in October 2026, with interviews from March to April 2027 and results from mid-June 2027. Applicants who are successful must submit an unconditional UK university offer by 8 July 2027, and studies begin in September or October 2027. The cycle for this year has therefore closed, but it shows how early the process starts.

Erasmus Mundus: The European Commission's Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters programmes are run by groups of universities across at least three countries. Full scholarships are available for the best students worldwide, and you apply directly to the programme. In most cases, applications run between October and January for courses starting the following academic year.

DAAD: Germany's academic exchange service keeps a searchable scholarship database where you can refine options to suit your situation.

Commonwealth and Fulbright: Both are well-established routes for eligible applicants. Eligibility, nominating bodies, deadlines and award terms change from cycle to cycle, so confirm the current details directly with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission or USIEF (for applicants in India) rather than relying on a summary.

How realistic are the timelines?

Scholarship deadlines often arrive long before intake. The Chevening example above runs from application in the autumn to study the following autumn, a gap of roughly a year. Erasmus Mundus applications cluster in the months before the academic year they fund. University awards may be decided alongside admission.

A practical way to plan is to work backwards from your intake:

• Twelve months out: List every scholarship you could qualify for and note each deadline.

• Six to nine months out: Submit applications and request references early.

• Admission season: Ask each school what funding it considers automatically and what needs a separate application.

• Before you commit: Work out your remaining cost of attendance after any confirmed awards.

These steps are a planning suggestion rather than a rule, and your own programme dates take priority.

Can I use a scholarship and a student loan together?

Short answer: Yes, many students do, and it is a sensible way to reduce how much they borrow.

The logic is simple. Your school publishes a cost of attendance, which covers tuition and living costs. A scholarship lowers the amount you still need to fund. A loan can cover some or all of the remainder.

Here is an illustrative example with round numbers, not a quote. Suppose a programme has a cost of attendance of USD 60,000 and you receive a USD 15,000 award. You would then need to fund USD 45,000 from other sources. If you borrowed that whole amount, you would borrow USD 15,000 less than you would without the scholarship.

Prodigy Finance has one loan product, with no collateral and no co-signer. It is assessed on your future earning potential, based on your school, programme, and academic and professional background.* Loans go up to USD 220,000* and up to 100% of your cost of attendance, subject to the cost of attendance limits your school sets, and funds are paid directly to your school. There is a USD 500 processing fee*. While you study you make a mandatory USD 100 monthly payment, and full repayments start after graduation. The representative APR is 13.48%* variable and includes interest and mandatory fees, including that monthly payment.

Does receiving a scholarship reduce how much I can borrow?

A scholarship reduces how much you need to borrow, which is usually the point. Whether it changes the amount a lender can offer depends on your school's cost of attendance and how the award is recorded. Because loan amounts are subject to the limits your school sets, tell your school's financial aid office about any award and ask how it affects your funding plan. You can also model different amounts with the education loan calculator.

How does this connect to Prodigy Finance scholarships?

Prodigy Finance's scholarships page explains the current programme. It says scholarship support for African students is delivered through NovaGrad, that awards are merit-based and competitive, and that scholarships are administered solely by NovaGrad and are not linked to Prodigy Finance loan products. Read the page for the latest details, because programmes and eligibility change from cycle to cycle.

Common mistakes when stacking funding

• Waiting for the final scholarship result: Check your loan options in parallel so a late decision does not leave a gap.

• Counting an award that has not been confirmed: Plan with confirmed amounts and treat pending awards as a bonus.

• Missing paperwork: Many awards need proof of admission, references or interviews, so build time into your schedule.

• Ignoring living costs: Some awards cover tuition only. Check what each one includes.

• Forgetting your wider timeline: Your visa and school deposit dates still apply while you wait.

For more planning guides, browse the Study Centre, or compare options on the student loans page.

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Disclaimer

*Loan and promotion offers are subject to our eligibility, funding, and credit assessment criteria. Loan amounts are subject to the cost of attendance limits set by schools.